VANCOUVER, August 16, 2012 - Ballard Power Systems has announced purchase orders for 102 fuel cell power generation systems to be delivered to the Company's new Southeast Asian distributor, Cascadiant Inc. The systems will be deployed in the networks of two wireless telecom customers in Indonesia, to provide reliable and cost-effective backup power in the event of grid outages.

Ballard recently closed a transaction to acquire select assets from IdaTech, a Ballard customer for the past several years. Assets included product lines, distributor agreements (including Cascadiant) and customer contracts.

Ballard had been supplying FCgen-1020ACS fuel cell stacks for use in IdaTech systems, as that Company developed markets, built key customer relationships and demonstrated the commercial robustness of its direct hydrogen and methanol fuelled products.

The transaction, in combination with Ballard's Dantherm Power hydrogen systems, has enabled establishment of a comprehensive portfolio of fuel cell power generation products for backup and continuous power.

John Sheridan, Ballard's President and CEO said, "The asset acquisition has given Ballard immediate financial and strategic benefits. Financially, the transaction is expected to be accretive for our revenue, EBITDA and cash flow in 2012 and beyond. Strategically, the addition of methanol fuelled systems provides Ballard with a complete set of fuel cell power generation products, along with distributor and customer relationships in leading markets for fuel cell commercialization."

The purchase orders for 102 systems include direct hydrogen ELECTRAgen^TM-H2 systems, to be deployed in the network of an Indonesian service provider in order to meet 'short duration runtime backup power' requirements. In addition, the purchase orders include methanol fuelled ELECTRAgen^TM-ME systems to be deployed in the network of a different Indonesian service provider in order to meet 'extended duration runtime backup power' needs. ELECTRAgen^TM fuel cell power generation systems are more financially attractive to customers, as well as being more environmentally-friendly, than alternative lead acid battery or diesel generator backup power solutions.

Marshall Towe, President and CEO of Cascadiant said, "Backup power solutions are, by their nature, critical elements of telecom networks. Therefore, the decision to use fuel cell-based products has certainly been given careful consideration by our customers. Moreover, we are very pleased to be buying systems from Ballard, a clear leader in the fuel cell industry."

About Ballard Power Systems

Ballard Power Systems (TSX: BLD) (NASDAQ: BLDP) provides clean energy fuel cell products enabling optimized power systems for a range of applications. Products deliver incomparable performance, durability and versatility. To learn more about Ballard, please visit www.ballard.com.